Things to do and places to visit in Jacksonville, Florida

The city of Jacksonville is located on the Atlantic coast of Florida. It’s the most populous city in the state, and is the largest city by area in the United States as of 2020. Being known as the largest city in the Sunshine State, JAX, as the city is known by the locals, boasts over 850 square miles of stunning beaches, thrilling attractions and natural beauty. Below are some of the exciting things to do is such a beautiful city.

Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens

A great family adventure, the Jacksonville Zoo has something for everyone with over 2.400 rare and exotic animals and 1,000 varieties of plants. Whether you are a visitor to Florida or a lifetime resident, you will want to experience the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens.

Catty Shack Ranch

This tiger ranch has a conservation mission, rescuing tigers and other big cats from inhumane captivity. Volunteers give tours of the ranch, providing the cats’ histories and detailed explanations of their operations. It’s good to get tickets ahead of time for a night feeding. Watching the cats walk around their cages and tear into whole carcasses is an experience like no other.

North & Southbank Riverwalk

This downtown Riverwalk is a chain of multi-use trails and open space areas along both the north and south banks of the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida. The almost 2-mile Downtown Northbank portion goes from the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville into the Brooklyn district. The 1.25-mile Southbank section connects local landmarks such as Friendship Fountain, Museum of Science & History and Riverplace Tower. All throughout the riverwalks on both banks are amazing views of the St. Johns River.

Friendship Fountain

Friendship Fountain is in St. Johns River Park, also known as Friendship Park, on the south side of the river, just west of Main Street. When the park opened in 1965, the Fountain of Friendship was the world’s largest and tallest fountain, able of spraying 17,000 gallons of water a minute to a height of 120 feet. Highlighted by colored lights at night, it is a popular tourist destination and local relaxing site.

Huguenot Memorial Park

Huguenot Memorial Park is an oceanfront park and beach. What’s nice about this is that it’s the only beach in Jacksonville you can drive your car on in the. Huguenot Memorial Park is a wonderful place to go for a day of beach fun, bird watching, kite surfing and much more. Located on Ft. George Island on the Northside of Jacksonville, it’s easily accessible by the Mayport Ferry or Heckscher Drive. They also have onsite camping.

There really are so many places to visit and things to do in Jacksonville, Florida if you just take the time to research it that you won’t go wrong visiting this great city of Jacksonville, Florida.